Hug
by Biocore
Summary: Yuki offers a little help and gets a lot to think about. A cute little one-shot.


Note: I do not own The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, any of the characters, locations, or anything related to it whatsoever (other than this story).

Hug

It was a cold, wintery day at North High. The air was placid and chilly, with only the occasional bit of wind. Large, fluffy snowflakes lazily drifted about the air, settling down on anywhere they happened to land, their intricate patterns easily visible to the few students that studied them. Overall, it was a very pretty sight to everyone… well, almost everyone. A certain purple-haired girl walked along the sidewalk wearing her typical expressionless face, seeming somewhat oblivious to the sights around her. She entered the building and placed her coat in her locker, revealing her usual dark sweater over her school uniform. She was walking down the hall to the library when her "friend" Kyon caught up with her. "Oh, Nagato, it's you. You going to the library too?"  
"Yes."  
"Any reason?"  
"To find a book."  
"Looking for anything in particular?"  
"No."  
"Ah, is that so…" He smiled exasperatedly, still not entirely used to how quickly Yuki could kill a conversation. "Hey, would you by any chance know any good remedies for a cold? Mikuru's been sniffling a bit lately and I thought it would be nice if I could make her feel better." Yuki looked up at him. "There are several methods for curing such an illness, but there is no guarantee any of them would work, or that she would survive some of them." He stepped back a bit. "Ah… Survive?" _What kind of weird things has she been reading… _She continued looking at him. "Although she would certainly feel better if you did her." Her right eye gave a halfhearted attempt at a wink, but Kyon didn't notice. "WHAT?! I can't believe you would even think such a thing!" Yuki looked down the hallway again. "There is no need to shout. I was merely joking. I thought humans found that kind of thing funny." _That was a joke? Geez, Nagato… _"Oh… Well, I think you need to work on it a bit. Usually we add a tone of voice that implies we're joking." Her reply was nonchalant. "Oh."

Yuki was certainly an odd person. Not that she was a person at all, but Kyon always wondered why she bothered pretending to be human when she practically had reality itself at her disposal. Couldn't she just have some kind of invisible hidden camera following Haruhi around all the time? Although he had to admit he was glad she had decided to be a human. She'd saved them more than enough times from several odd occurrences, and more than that, she was kind of… cute. Although she was small-statured, flat-chested and generally bland (because she didn't want to be noticeable), she had another side to her that showed itself once in a while. Sometimes in moments when even she was in danger, or maybe during the odd situation where she was being genuinely friendly, her golden eyes had this certain glimmer to them and her eyebrows were raised, and she looked so absolutely innocent and sad and… normal. It was those moments when some kind of emotion showed through that Kyon was truly glad for Yuki and all of her quirks.

He was taken out of his memories by a soft tap on his shoulder. He looked down to see Yuki gazing up at him. "Kyon, you stopped. You should get to the library and find that book before the bell rings." He started walking again, a bit flustered. "Aha… Sorry about that, Yuki. Just remembering some old things." She quickened her pace. "What kind of things?" He smiled. "Oh, nothing important." They arrived at the library and Yuki quickly headed off to a random shelf. Kyon found his way to a section with a couple of books on various illnesses, found a few about colds, and checked them out. Now was the hard part of getting Yuki out of the library. _As punctual as she is about time, she really gets lost in books… _He wandered through the sea of books for several minutes before he found her standing in the middle of the isle reading. "Hey Yuki, we should go now. Did you find anything you… YUKI?!" He raced to catch the small girl as she suddenly fell backwards. "What's wrong? Yuki?" She looked upwards at him with a passionate expression. "Oh Kyon… I was just thinking of you, and your sweet voice swept me off my feet…" _What the… _"Uh… You feeling okay?" Kyon was starting to blush at the way Yuki was looking at him. Suddenly her face shifted back to its normal state and she got up. "I'm fine. I was just curious how you would react if I did that." She walked away towards the front desk, leaving Kyon confused and bewildered. "Ugh… I should have seen that coming… As if Nagato would suddenly change like that." He got up and followed her to the desk, she checked out a few books, then they split up and went to their respective classes.

-Later-

The SOS Brigade was as rampant as ever, or at least its leader was. "Okay Brigade! Because the weather outside is so cold, people will want something to keep warm right? So, because _I'm_ so generous, I think we should sell hot tea around town. And don't worry about standing outside too long, I made sure to get everyone the perfect coats to help advertise our effort! Show it off, Mikuru!" The girl in question hesitantly came out from behind a changing curtain, sporting a fluffy pink coat with exaggerated white fluff around the cuffs and hood. Large bunny ears protruded from the top of the hooding, drooping down as if in response to how Mikuru was feeling. "U-uhm… Isn't this a bit much? I mean, a coat is nice, but this just seems a bit extravagant…" In all honesty it did look a bit much, but the expression she was wearing and the pose she was in made her look obnoxiously cute. Kyon sighed. _Poor Mikuru, she always winds up looking the best in those things… _Itsuki clapped. "That looks really nice Mikuru! You're quite the fashionista, Miss Suzumiya." Haruhi waved her hand dismissively. "Oh please, Itsuki. This is just a small example of my work!" _Oh great, there he goes stroking her ego again. I know he's trying to keep her happy, but sometimes he really goes too far… _

Mikuru sneezed and whimpered a bit. "Nnn… I hate colds…" Kyon walked up to her with a small cup in his hands. "Oh, Mikuru, you should drink this. I think it might help with your cold a bit." She peered into the cup to make sure it was okay, then took a small sip. Her face brightened and she took a larger drink from it. "Hah… That's really good! I feel warmer…" She finished it off happily and blew her nose in a tissue. "Ooh, I can breathe again! Thanks so much, Kyon!" He chuckled. "Oh no, you should really thank Nagato for that. She did the research, I just used it." Mikuru ran over to Yuki and suddenly gave her a firm hug. "Thanks Yuki!" Kyon gasped quietly. Yuki wasn't exactly the type to let anyone near her like that, and last time he checked Mikuru had been a bit uneasy around the alien girl. Mikuru backed off somewhat nervously, but still smiling. "Oh, sorry, I should have seen if you were okay with that…" Yuki answered in her usual tone. "No, it's fine, I didn't lose my page. You're welcome." She continued reading. "Nerves of steel, that girl…" Mikuru hugged Kyon next. "Thanks anyway Kyon, that was very nice of you and Yuki to make that for me." Haruhi waved her hands in the air. "Hello!? I WAS talking you know! You should never interrupt your Brigade Leader!" Mikuru released Kyon and went back to her previous spot so Haruhi could continue. "So anyway, as you can see, this outfit is perfectly fitted for being outside for extended periods of time while the shape and color still attract customers…" Kyon zoned out. He was looking at Yuki, and the slight change that had come over her. She had just the slightest bit of extra color in her cheeks, and her gaze seemed a little less focused. She turned the pages of her book a lot slower than usual, as if something was distracting her from reading. Her fingers seemed a bit tensed, as if something was bugging her. _Oh no, don't tell me she didn't like the hug…? I know she's not overly social, but I didn't think she would feel like that about it… _

-Later-

School was over, and everyone was leaving. Students passed by, chatting to friends or looking around at the winter scenery. Kyon managed to find Yuki slowly walking among the throng of people and caught up with her. "Hey, Nagato." She looked up just a fraction. "Hello. I believe you walk the other way to your home." _Trying to throw me off already, huh? No chance._ "Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you about something. In the club, after Mikuru hugged you, you seemed a little agitated. Did you not like it or something?" She looked down slightly. "Exactly the opposite. I enjoyed it." Now he was confused. "What's the problem, then?" She quickened her pace. "I'm not supposed to feel enjoyment." Kyon stopped, watching the purple-haired girl quickly escape his vision. _Not supposed to feel an emotion like that? I suppose it makes more sense where she comes from, but still… _He turned around and began the long walk home.

-Yuki's Apartment-

Yuki placed her schoolbag down near the door where she always kept it and sat down on the couch. On any other day she would have kneeled in front of the small table in the center of the spacey room and had a conference with the Data Entity, but today it would not have been a wise decision. She was many things, but confused and agitated were the most prominent. _If the Data Entity finds out I'm starting to experience emotions, I will be replaced… I must not fail my mission. But that feeling… It was so powerful. When Mikuru hugged me, it felt so… warm._ She held her arms out as if she was back at the exact moment and sighed as she grasped empty air. _So warm…_ She hugged herself as the memory sent echoes of the sensation through her body. "Being human… there's so many new temptations. I must watch myself, I will not become like Ryoko." The purple-haired girl ran her hand along her arm, tracing it back and forth as she felt the slight scraping sensation. "But maybe it would improve my skills with humans if I could learn to be more like them…" She lay down on the couch and exhaled as she felt the soft material of the couch rubbing gently along her face. _I've never felt this before… I don't need sleep. But I wonder… _She sighed quietly and closed her eyes, drifting off into a dreamless sleep. Anyone who knew her and how grand she was would have been humbled by the peaceful expression she slept with.

-The next day-

It was business as usual. The snow had stopped falling and the sky was a beautiful clear blue. Haruhi and Mikuru were making a scene at the entrance, trying to sell tea while sporting Haruhi's body-hugging bunnygirl jackets. Mikuru was being harassed as usual. "G-Get your tea here! It's very refreshing and warm… No… I don't come with the tea… Stop staring!" Of course Haruhi was no help at all in this situation; she just considered it more publicity. Kyon passed through a different gate, hoping to avoid Haruhi's gaze, and kind of wondering where Itski was. _That guy is always missing until we need him. He's probably off flirting with some group of girls or something. _He placed his coat in his locker and was surprised to find Yuki waiting there for him. "Oh, Nagato. What brings you here?" She brought out a small cup of tea. "Haruhi instructed me to sell this inside the school. That will be 200 yen." He chuckled and gave her the money, taking the tea. "So, how many customers have you had?" She started walking away. "I had one cup of tea meant for you." Kyon's mouth fell open slightly as Yuki disappeared. _For me… Geez, Nagato, do you like me or not?! _He finished the tea and walked off to class in a daze.

-Later-

Haruhi had assembled the Brigade and was lecturing Kyon on his poor performance when suddenly Yuki came in. Haruhi didn't notice, but Kyon sure did. _What the heck… she's never late. Ever. What's up? _The purple-haired girl sat next to Mikuru and waited while Haruhi finished talking. Then she did something truly out of character. She turned to Mikuru, hesitated a bit, and then started talking. "Mikuru, I apologize for yesterday." Mikuru turned to her. "What? Oh… What did you do wrong? I thanked you for the drink…" A slight blush tinged Yuki's face. "I was supposed to say 'you're welcome.'" She gently embraced Mikuru, resting her head against the shy girl's shoulder. She realized then that it didn't matter how cold or windy or snowy it was outside, or how odd she seemed to other people, because in here, with her friends, she would always be warm.


End file.
